The present invention generally relates to medical workflow. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for patient acuity driven workflow using computer-aided diagnosis of medial images.
Healthcare environments, such as hospitals or clinics, include clinical information systems, such as hospital information systems (HIS) and radiology information systems (RIS), and storage systems, such as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). Information stored may include patient medical histories, imaging data, test results, diagnosis information, management information, and/or scheduling information, for example. The information may be centrally stored or divided at a plurality of locations. Healthcare practitioners may desire to access patient information or other information at various points in a healthcare workflow. For example, during surgery, medical personnel may access patient information, such as images of a patient's anatomy, that are stored in a medical information system. Alternatively, medical personnel may enter new information, such as history, diagnostic, or treatment information, into a medical information system during an ongoing medical procedure.
PACS connect to medical diagnostic imaging devices and employ an acquisition gateway (between the acquisition device and the PACS), storage and archiving units, display workstations, databases, and sophisticated data processors. These components are integrated together by a communication network and data management system. A PACS has, in general, the overall goals of streamlining health-care operations, facilitating distributed remote examination and diagnosis, and improving patient care.
A typical application of a PACS system is to provide one or more medical images for examination by a medical professional. For example, a PACS system can provide a series of x-ray images to a display workstation where the images are displayed for a radiologist to perform a diagnostic examination. Based on the presentation of these images, the radiologist can provide a diagnosis. For example, the radiologist can diagnose a tumor or lesion in x-ray images of a patient's lungs.
A reading, such as a radiology or cardiology procedure reading, is a process of a healthcare practitioner, such as a radiologist or a cardiologist, viewing digital images of a patient. The practitioner performs a diagnosis based on a content of the diagnostic images and reports on results electronically (e.g., using dictation or otherwise) or on paper. The practitioner, such as a radiologist or cardiologist, typically uses other tools to perform diagnosis. Some examples of other tools are prior and related prior (historical) exams and their results, laboratory exams (such as blood work), allergies, pathology results, medication, alerts, document images, and other tools.
Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of image data may be utilized by practitioners to aid in reading medical images. CAD software can identify and mark features, abnormalities, and/or anomalies in medical images to bring to the attention of the practitioner. In addition, CAD software can generate a report of the identified features, abnormalities, and/or anomalies. The practitioner may then review the marked images and/or reports prior to making a final diagnosis.
A clinical or healthcare environment is a crowded, demanding environment that would benefit from organization and improved ease of use of imaging systems, data storage systems, and other equipment used in the healthcare environment. A healthcare environment, such as a hospital or clinic, encompasses a large array of professionals, patients, and equipment. Personnel in a healthcare facility must manage a plurality of patients, systems, and tasks to provide quality service to patients. Healthcare personnel may encounter many difficulties or obstacles in their workflow.
A variety of distractions in a clinical environment may frequently interrupt medical personnel or interfere with their job performance. Furthermore, workspaces, such as a radiology workspace, may become cluttered with a variety of monitors, data input devices, data storage devices, and communication device, for example. Cluttered workspaces may result in inefficient workflow and service to clients, which may impact a patient's health and safety or result in liability for a healthcare facility. Data entry and access is also complicated in a typical healthcare facility.
With increasing volumes of examinations and images, a reduction of radiologists, and mounting pressures on improving productivity, radiologists and other healthcare personnel are in need of image processing or display workflow enhancements that aid in prioritizing workflow. Currently, healthcare personnel utilize worklists to organize and priorities their workflow. Worklists show a list of exams or procedures. A worklist may list provide a list of exams for a radiologist to read, for example. Worklists may show new exams or procedures as new cases are created in the system. The worklist may allow the radiologist to organize the exams to be read based on time received or patient name, for example.
There is a need for workflow enhancements that allow a healthcare provider to attend to more acute cases first. Current systems only allow images for acute cases to be marked ‘stat.’ However, within the group of images marked as ‘stat,’ there is no indication or organization of which cases are more acute than others.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for patient acuity driven workflow using computer-aided diagnosis of medial images.